Ah! A bold espresso that boasts intense flowery, winey, citrus, acid — and yes, even butter toffee notes. So says an electronic nose, anyway.

Behold, the coffee snob of the future.

Perhaps the machine assembled by scientists at the Nestlé Research Center in Switzerland isn’t quite ready to be called into daily demitasse-sipping service. But in an analytical test of its abilities, it predicted the range of aromas and intensities noted by a panel of experts for 11 different espressos, with few mismatches.

— More "electronic nose" news (see yesterday's Future Shock post). Read more at Electronic nose knows quality coffee at MSNBC. Thanks to Ruth for the link!